Are you curious how the 5Run faired running a 5k… 18 times? Peruse the video to find out.

It’s been a long week… feels like I’ve been hit by a truck. Through the last seven days, along with my team and fellow Bagel Chasers, I’ve managed to run 90 km. This of course is in addition to working 50-55 hours this week.

Aside from causing me to reassess my life, (who spends this much time running?) this week really opened my eyes to the vibrant running community in Vancouver.

Learn about 5Run’s first charity event: the Bagel Chase, and a spontaneous 5Run thank you moment on the best five run of 2013.

Thank you, kindly

The ocean in false creek is like glass, no wind, no rain – i’m running with Gerard. We waste little time firing up our respective running apps and get going.

Wednesday morning was your atypical five run. I kept thinking how perfect the weather was for running, and clearly others felt the same way. Barely 2 km’s in, we hit 8 high fives.

Then, something interesting happened.

We came across a pretty brunette girl running. In typical fashion, we fell into five formation and extended our hands. Something particularly awesome happened next.

While she enthusiastically high fived us, she said something i’ll never forget.

“thank you!”

Shocked, we responded with your typical ‘woohoos’ and continued on. We sort of laughed it off… “hey that chick thanked us!” We finished our run, the best morning five run of the year so far, we hit 27 high fives.

Something about the encounter stayed with me. It wasn’t until later on that I figured out what the hell happened.

More on that later.

Chasing bagels for the kids – #5Run Funboys

The five run movement is running it’s first race this coming week. The Bagel Chase is a week-long 5km running challenge in Vancouver.

We’ve entered a team of five fine people I work with: Michael, Janis, Chris, Gerard, and Andrew. Our team name is #5Run Funboys, but evidently, there is a lady on the squad.

We plan on 5running our way through the week, so keep an eye out on burrard st. bridge and the west end seawall in Vancouver.

All the proceeds go to CISV: “a non-profit volunteer organization that brings kids from all over the world together for summer camps about global peace and building global friendships.”

You complete as many laps of the 5km course in a week; whilst eating bagels and raising money for the kids.

So from Feb 2-8 we plan on hammering out laps pre-work, at lunch, and post work.

It’s going to be a long week.

We would love your support on the Bagel Chase! Come out and give us a high five or cheer us on!

Talking to people about the reality of spreading the 5Run movement to the masses gets me thinking. I reflect on whether it’s realistic to expect others to eventually share the same passion for change, and helping people as i do.

Some of you I talk to are reluctant to high five if you’re running alone (completely fine, by the way). I think you may be better suited to spread the love whilst running in a group. It is all about comfort, do what feels right.

Originally, I adopted the ‘lone wolf’ mentality with 5Run. I envisioned high fiving strangers as way to bring fun to running, and add social element to the monotonous pavement grind.Interacting with your fellow runners by helping, encouraging, and even pushing one another to be a better version of yourself was the goal. It still is, and progress is my guide.

I tend to experiment liberally with just about everything I do, high fives are no exception. I’m constantly thinking, tweaking elements of the whole high five experience – this is probably due to competitive / perfectionist disposition.

Since i’m getting requests on the specifics of high fiving other runners, i’ll attempt to map it out for y’all.

Think of the it this way: You have about 15 meters or or 3-4 seconds of real-estate with which to work. There’s a laundry list of things which need to align to pull off a successful running high five.

This is a continually evolving process as i’ve experimented with different approaches and techniques. Some work, some not so much… and some were outright embarrassing.

Lucky for you, i’ve done the heavy lifting, and will outline the art of the running high five.

Here’s how you can high five a stranger without embarrassing yourself:Read more…

Through the fall, i’ve high-fived my fellow running strangers all over Vancouver from Kits, DTES, to UBC, and the Sea Wall. I’ll run a couple times per week before work as well as one caffeine-fuelled long hangover cure of run a on the weekend.

My motive with #5Run is simple: bring joy to fellow runners. I wrote last year about bringing fun to running, but there’s something more important here.

If i can positively shift someone’s outlook on the day, i’ll take it. Unfortunately, this proves a bit of a challenge as Vancouver runners are a difficult bunch.

I get a lot of questions about learning digital, social, and breaking into the industry. With more universities offering diplomas, certifications, and courses for social and digital media, the question is whether it’s worth your money.

My advice is always to use extreme caution.

The nature of the digital space is such that its in a constant state of change. Social is new; Facebook is nine years old and Twitter six. What’s the next disruptive social platform?

The point is social and digital evolves quicker than any industry. That is why formal education doesn’t mesh with this space.

With Movember winding down, I’m stroking my glorious moustache and pondering Movembers role in the greater context of mens health awareness. The last two years skyrocketed Movember’s status into mainstream.

With that comes mainstream media exposure and thus, opportunities for businesses.